LOOSE DIAMONDS & DIAMOND JEWELRY MAINTENANCE
Become an expert in the field of jewelry and educate yourself from our library below:
Diamonds are the hardest known substances on earth. With the proper care, they can last a lifetime and can even be handed down as heirlooms to future generations without losing any of their luster. But they can still be scratched, chipped or dulled if not handled correctly. So here are some tips that will help preserve the life and beauty of your diamond:
A diamond can scratch another diamond, as well as other jewelry pieces, so store diamond items separately. If you need to store diamond items together, make sure they aren’t tangled together so they won’t scratch one another. Diamond jewelry pieces are best stored in a fabric-lined jewel case or in a box with compartments or dividers.
Never wear diamond jewelry while doing heavy work. Even though a diamond is extremely durable, it can be chipped by a hard blow, and even everyday activity can loosen a setting.
Don’t let your diamonds come in contact with chlorine bleach or other chemicals because they can pit or discolor the mounting.
Clean your diamonds regularly. If using a commercial jewelry cleaner, use a brand name and follow the instructions on the label. You can also soak your diamond jewelry in a small bowl of warm, soapy water made with any mild liquid detergent. Gently brush the piece with a soft toothbrush while it is in the suds to dislodge any dust or dirt from under the setting. Then, rinse under warm running water. Pat dry with a soft, lint-free cloth. And remember to always put a stopper in your sink! Another cleaning option would be a half-and-half solution of household ammonia and cold water. Place your jewelry in a small bowl of the mix for 30 minutes. Lift out and gently tap around the front and back of the mounting with a small soft toothbrush. Swish in the solution a second time, then rinse and drain on tissue paper. Finally, you can clean your diamonds by soaking them in a glass of vodka.
If your diamond has been treated or altered in any way, it may need special attention and care. Diamonds can be colored, tinted, coated, irradiated or heated to improve their appearance. Inclusions are sometimes removed with lasers, while fractures are filled with a glasslike compound. Some of these procedures are not permanent - for instance, the epoxies used in fracture-filled diamonds can melt away if the stone is heated. Ask a jeweler you trust to let you know if your diamond’s natural appearance has been altered and to advise you of any special care procedures.
Take your diamond jewelry to a jeweler every six months to have it professionally cleaned and to have it checked for loose or bent prongs and wear.
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HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT DIAMOND
After a lifetime of searching, you have finally found the person that you want to be with forever, and now it's time to choose the diamond that will represent your promise of "eternal love," but where do you begin? First things first. No matter how much research you do, and no matter how much time you spend on the process, remember one key element: Enjoy the Experience! This is supposed to be a fun time for both of you, so do your research, but don't become overwhelmed in the process.
Every book on diamond education and every web site dedicated to diamond buying will tell you the same thing: you can't start the diamond buying process without first learning about the 4 C's. Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat Weight are the four C's that will determine the diamond's 5th C... its Cost. Deciding on your budget is an important first step. Another thing to keep in mind is that even though you are the person making the purchase, your significant other will be the one that it adorns for the rest of their life. So remember to snoop around, and find out what style, shape or size diamond will make them happy.
A Diamond Grading Certificate or Grading Report should also accompany the diamond that you plan to buy. Consider this to be the diamond's "birth certificate." All of its characteristics, including the Shape, Color, Clarity and Carat Weight are posted on it, along with specifications such as Polish, Symmetry, Girdle Culet Size, and Fluorescence. The goal in buying a diamond is to get the highest grade in all of these traits that your budget will allow. There may be sacrificing involved if your wish is to get a higher grade on a specific characteristic when working with a fixed price. This is where you will have to determine what is most important to you or your special someone. Is color most important? Is getting the largest diamond that fits within your budget the most important? Establishing this up front will help guide you through the entire process, and for the most part, make it easier and more enjoyable.
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DIAMOND ANATOMY
Table: The flat facet on the top of the diamond.
Girdle: The sweetly narrow rim that coincides with the "fattest" section of the diamond.
Crown: The titillating top section of the diamond -- everything above the girdle.
Pavilion: The bountiful bottom section of the diamond -- everything below the girdle.
Culet: The pointy tip of the diamond -- which may or may not be faceted.
Measurements Depth: The full height of the diamond, from the culet to the table. Diameter: The full width of the diamond (measured through the girdle).
Round Brilliant Cut The "Round Brilliant Cut" is the most popular for diamond engagement rings. The round brilliant has fifty-seven or fifty-eight facets (dependent on if the pointy tip ("culet") of the diamond is faceted or left in a point -- both options are acceptable).
Remember the first rule of buying a diamond ...ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE!
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GOLD JEWELRY MAINTENANCE
Become an expert in the field of jewelry and educate yourself from our library below:
If treated carefully, the gold jewelry item you have purchased could last a lifetime and might even be handed down to future generations. So here are some tips that will help preserve the beauty of your gold jewelry.
First of all, gold is lasting and durable but can get scratched or dented if treated roughly. This is particularly true of items worn on the hands like rings and bracelets that are prone to a lot of knocks. So remove these pieces before any type of strenuous activity.
Second, beware of chemicals. Gold’s worst enemy is chlorine. Repeated exposure can weaken gold’s structure, eventually leading to breakage. So keep your gold jewelry away from chlorinated cleaning products and out of swimming pools and jacuzzis.
On a related note, acids, abrasives and other harsh chemicals found in some common household cleaning solutions can weaken your jewelry or damage its finish. So it’s best to cover up rings and bracelets with rubber gloves while doing heavy-duty cleaning. Or better yet, take them off altogether.
Gold can lose its luster over time if repeatedly exposed to dust, moisture, perspiration and makeup. So make sure to clean your jewelry regularly. You can use a cleaning solution of sudsy, lukewarm water, or bring it to your local jeweler and have it professionally steam-cleaned. After cleaning and rinsing, always dry and polish jewelry with a chamois or soft cloth to avoid scratches and bring out its shine.
Proper storage is as important as cleaning. Protect your gold jewelry by storing it safely in a jewelry box or keeping it wrapped in a soft cloth when not being worn. Furthermore, keeping pieces stored separately will prevent them from getting tangled or scratching one another.
Finally, always inspect your gold jewelry for weakness or damage and bring it to a professional jeweler you trust for immediate repair. Pay particular attention to clasps (to ensure they catch easily but are still secure); prongs (to ensure they haven’t cracked, bent or loosened, which could cause the stone to fall out); bracelet and neck chain links (to ensure they don’t kink or bend); pin backs and earring posts (to see if they are bent or loose); and wedding bands, pendants and charms (dangling pieces and items worn every day for a long period of time) are subject to wear and can thin out and eventually break. We will be able to handle these and many other repair jobs and ultimately restore your gold jewelry for you.
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Gold Info
Gold is a remarkable, rare metal, with an unparalleled combination of chemical and physical properties. It is the only yellow metal and bears its name from the Old English word for yellow, 'geolu'. It is also the only metal that forms no oxide film on it's surface in air at normal temperatures, meaning that it will never rust or tarnish.
Gold's chemical symbol, Au, comes from the latin word for gold, aurum. Gold may be alloyed with various other metals to give it special properties. In its pure form, gold has a metallic luster and is sun yellow, but when mixed or alloyed with other metals, such as silver (Ag), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), tellurium (Te), and iron (Fe), creates various color hues ranging from silver-white to green and orange-red. Usually, red, yellow and green golds are made by adding varying amounts of copper (Cu) and silver (Ag) to produce alloys of 10 to 14 carats. White golds have traditionally been made by alloying nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) with gold, but more recently silver (Ag) and palladium (Pd) have replaced the zinc. These color variation treatments to gold are mostly used in jewelry.
Fineness is a metallurgical term indicating the purity of gold and is expressed in parts per 1,000. Minted coins and bars have a fineness of 999.9 parts per 1,000. The purity of gold in an item or the amount of gold in an alloy is measured with a unit called a carat. An item of fine or pure gold is 24 carat, with lesser carat values indicating the proportion of fine gold content as a fraction of 24. For example, an 18 carat gold item contains 18/24 (or 3/4) fine gold and 6/24 (or 1/4) alloy by weight
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Palladium Info
Palladium is a lustrous silvery white metal with the atomic number 46 and chemical abbreviation of Pd. It is used in electronics, jewelry, and certain other industries. Because the metal is extremely rare, palladium is considered to be a precious metal, and it can command a high price on the open market. Consumers are probably most familiar with palladium in the form of alloys with other metals, or inclusion within electronics. When electronics are recycled and stripped down, palladium is one of the metals which is frequently removed so that it can be reused.
The metal was discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston, who named it palladium after the asteroid Pallas. The asteroid, in turn, was named for a Greek Goddess of Wisdom. Palladium often occurs in conjunction with platinum, and it is frequently associated with gold, nickel, and copper. The metal resists tarnish, and is extremely ductile, meaning that it takes readily to working. When palladium is cold worked, the tensile strength greatly increases.
Alloys with palladium are used to make electronic components, especially contacts. Palladium is also used in the manufacture of surgical instruments, and in some jewelry, especially in the production of white gold, which is an alloy of gold with a white metal. The metal is also sometimes used in purification and processing, and it is able to absorb up to 900 times its volume in hydrogen. This property of palladium is harnessed in scientific experiments.
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Titanium InfoTITANIUM (Ti, atomic number 22) is a lustrous, grey metallic element used principally to make lightweight, resistant alloys. It is one of the transitional elements of the periodic table and has many desirable properties, most notably its incredible strength and durability.
Titanium is immune to corrosive attacks by saltwater and marine atmosphere, and exhibits exceptional resistance to a broad range of corrosive gases, acids and alkalis. Immune to microbiologically influenced corrosion, Titanium is physiologically inert and hypoallergenic.
Titanium is virtually non-magnetic, as well, making it ideal for applications where electromagnetic interference must be minimized.
Titanium exhibits a high strength to weight ratio. Pure titanium is stronger than steel yet nearly 50% lighter. When added to various alloys, its hardness, toughness and tensile strength can be increased dramatically.
Titanium is always found in combination with other substances, and occurs as an oxide in ilmenite, rutile and sphene, and is present in titanates and in many iron ores. Titanium is present in the ash of coal, in plants, and in the human body. Titanium is ductile only when it is free of oxygen and nitrogen (air), melting at 16600C (30200F) and boiling at 32870C (59490F).
The complex process of converting titanium ore into metal has been commercially viable for a little more than 50 years. Since the commercial introduction of titanium, its use has expanded by an average of 8% per year and its popularity continues to grow.
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Platinum InfoPlatinum is the hardest of the precious metals, it never tarnishes. Its intense luster remains intact over the years, and it is completely hypoallergenic.
Platinum is extremely dense, and remarkably heavy. Much more so than silver or gold. This property of platinum enhances and ennobles the quality of the jewelry from which it is created.
The ultimate stability of platinum over the years is unmatched. It does not wear, and its extreme level of durability offers a profound guarantee of strength and longevity. When a customer comes into our shop to have their great grandmother's ring cleaned, invariably, the ring is made from platinum.
Platinum takes us back over 3000 years to ancient Egypt where the remarkable metalsmiths of that time became extremely skilled in the art of working with platinum. A 2500 year old coffin of an Egyptian High Priestess was discovered, decorated with platinum hieroglyphs. Their polish and luster were still perfect, giving dramatic proof of platinum's incomparable strength and durability.
Platinum is an extremely rare metal, even rarer than gold. There isn't much of it around and it has only been found in select locations across the planet. Platinum is a strong, dense metal, which allows it to be used in many different ways. Besides jewelry, it is also used to make catalytic converters, and it is helpful in the medical field because it resists oxidation. As the perfect material for pacemakers, platinum not only makes lovely jewelry, but also helps save lives.
Despite its strength, platinum is a very supple, workable material, making intricate designs and details far easier to achieve than with gold. Since it is so pure, platinum jewelry is the perfect hypoallergenic accessory for those who cannot wear gold. Part of the reason people cannot wear gold is often associated with the alloys involved in the jewelry making process. Since platinum jewelry contains very little alloy, it is a good choice for those who are sensitive to metals.
Platinum jewelry is made from very pure platinum. As compared to gold, platinum falls between the 18-karat and 24-karat range, with 18 karat being approximately 75% pure and 24 karat being the purest. Since 18-karat jewelry is 75% pure, that means that the other 25% of the piece is an alloy, such as silver, zinc or copper. This simply means that platinum requires very little alloy to be combined with it in order to make platinum jewelry.
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Tungsten InfoThe history of tungsten goes back to the 17th century. The miners in the ErzMountains of Saxony noticed that certain ores disturbed the reduction of cassiterite (a tin mineral) and induced slagging. "They tear away the tin and devour it like a wolf devours a sheep", a contemporary wrote in the symbolic language of those times. The miners gave this annoying ore German nicknames like "wolfert" and "wolffram" (which means wolf froth).
In 1758, the Swedish chemist and mineralogist, Axel Fredrik Cronstedt, discovered and described an unusually heavy mineral that he called "tung-sten", which is Swedish for heavy stone. He was convinced that this mineral contained a new and, as yet undiscovered, element.
Carl Wilhelm Scheele isolated tungsten trioxide for the first time in 1781. This statuette by Carl Milles is on view at Millesgarden outside Stockholm.It was not until 1781 that a fellow Swede, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, who worked as a pharmacist and private tutor in Uppsala and Köping, succeeded in isolating the oxide (tungsten trioxide). Torbern Bergman, working at Uppsala, predicted that the acid isolated by Scheele contains a new metal which should be possible to prepare by coal reduction. One year later, a Spanish nobleman, Don Juan Jose de Elhuyar, studied at the University of Uppsala under Bergman. He also met Scheele.
Back in Spain, Juan Jose and his brother Fausto de Elhuyar de Suvisa were the first in 1783 to prepare tungsten metal by the method suggested by Bergman. They named it wolfram.
Jöns Jacob Berzelius (1816) and later also Friedrich Wöhler (1824) described the oxides and bronzes of tungsten and proposed to use the name "wolfram" for the metal in favour to tungsten. While Wolfram established itself in Germany and Scandinavia, the Anglo-Saxon countries preferred Cronstedt’s "tungsten".
In 1821, K.C. von Leonhard proposed the name "Scheelite" for the mineral CaWO4.
In 1847, R. Oxland took out a patent for the manufacture of sodium tungstate and tungstic acid, which forms the starting point of the metallurgy of tungsten. He was the real founder of the tungsten chemistry.
The first attempts to produce tungsten steel with excellent results were made in 1855 (J. Jacob and F. Koeller; Reichraming steel works; Austria).
Further improvements in alloying and hardening of steels by tungsten were made late in the 19th century (Robert Mushet special steel; Boehler “Boreas”steel). Rapid growth and widespread application followed the invention, and the launch of high speed steels by Bethlehem Steel (F.W. Taylor and M. White) took place in 1900 at the Paris World Exhibition.
The second important breakthrough in tungsten applications was made by W. D. Coolidge in 1908/1909. Coolidge succeeded in preparing a ductile tungsten wire by thermomechanical processing. Metal powder was pressed to bars, sintered and forged to thin rods. Very thin wire was then drawn from these rods. This was the beginning of tungsten powder metallurgy, which was instrumental in the rapid development of the lamp industry.
The year 1923 is the next important milestone in the chronology of tungsten. It marks the invention of hardmetal (combining WC and Cobalt by liquid phase sintering) by K. Schröter and the corresponding application for a patent which was granted to Osram Studiengesellschaft in Berlin and licensed to Krupp in Essen in 1926. Nowadays, hardmetal (cemented carbide) is the main application for tungsten.
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